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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA The Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide ELAW Global alliance of public interest lawyers and scientists working outside of government to protect the environment through law Giving local advocates the legal and scientific tools they need to challenge environmental abuses, defend biodiversity and build a sustainable future Helping local advocates employ electronic communication tools in defense of the natural environment Helping local advocates gain the skills and resources they need to build strong organizations and promote a sustainable future

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Constitutional Right to Life

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Constitutional Right to Life “Basic needs of man have traditionally been accepted to the three - food, clothing and shelter. The right to life is guaranteed in any civilized society. That would take within its sweep the right to food, the right to clothing, the right to decent environment and a reasonable accommodation to live in.” Shantistar Builders vs Narayan Khimalal Totame, Civil Appeal No of 1989, decided Jan. 31, Supreme Court of India, at sec. 9.

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Precautionary Principle “By virtue of the precautionary principle... the import and planting of the transgenic organism known as a variety of Nucot 33B is ordered suspended, until such time that Monsanto Colombiana, Inc. has applied for, and obtained, the environmental license that is required to comply with Colombian law -- the purpose of which is no other than the protection of the environment, biological diversity, and human health.” --Acción Popular suspende Importación de Algodón Transgénico en Colombia, , 17 Oct. 2003

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Polluter Pays Principle The polluter pays principle "reflects the growing concern on the part of legislatures and of society about the safeguarding of the environment. That concern does not reflect only the collective desire to protect it in the interests of the people who live and work in it, and exploit its resources, today. It may also be evidence of an emerging sense of inter ‑ generational solidarity and acknowledgement of an environmental debt to humanity and to the world of tomorrow." --Imperial Oil Ltd. v. Quebec (Minister of the Environment), 2003 SCC 58, [2003] 2 S.C.R. 624, at para. 19

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Public Trust Doctrine "[I]n the absence of any legislation, the executive acting under the doctrine of public trust cannot abdicate the natural resources and convert them into private ownership, or for commercial use. The aesthetic use and the pristine glory of the natural resources, the environment and the ecosystems of our country cannot be permitted to be eroded for private, commercial or any other use unless the courts find it necessary, in good faith, for the public good and in public interest to encroach upon the said resources." --M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath, WP 182/1996 ( ) (para. 35)

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Environmental Rights are Human Rights Soviet-era steelworks plant emitted polluting substances times higher than the maximum permissible limits. Residents, including Nadezhda Fadeyeva, lived in government- owned apartment buildings located right next to the plant. They suffered from cancer, and blood and respiratory diseases.

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Fadeyeva and other poor residents sought to re-locate away from the plant. Russian court agreed with her and ordered her placed on the waiting list to be relocated. She was on a “general waiting list” of 6,820 people who wanted to move. One person had been “waiting” since 1968!

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home, and his correspondence.

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Lawyers used the Convention to link environmental rights to human rights and relied on expert testimony from ELAW U.S. scientists to make their case. “I can hardly think of a more powerful case for the importance of ELAW. The case has the potential to fundamentally shift thinking in Europe on the connection between human rights and the environment.” Phil Michaels, UK attorney & ELAW partner

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA Access to Information “[T]he Court has established that, according to the protection granted by the American Convention, the right to freedom of thought and expression includes “not only the right and freedom to express one’s own thoughts, but also the right and freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds.” In the same way as the American Convention, other international human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, establish a positive right to seek and receive information.” --Inter-American Court of Human Rights Claude Reyes et al. v. Chile, Judgment of September 19, 2006 (para. 76, fn omitted)

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA “[T]he Court finds that, by expressly stipulating the right to ‘seek’ and ‘receive’ ‘information,’ Article 13 of the Convention protects the right of all individuals to request access to State-held information, with the exceptions permitted by the restrictions established in the Convention. Consequently, this article protects the right of the individual to receive such information and the positive obligation of the State to provide it.... The information should be provided without the need to prove direct interest or personal involvement in order to obtain it.... The delivery of information to an individual can, in turn, permit it to circulate in society, so that the latter can become acquainted with it, have access to it, and assess it. In this way, the right to freedom of thought and expression includes the protection of the right of access to State-held information, which also clearly includes the two dimensions, individual and social, of the right to freedom of thought and expression that must be guaranteed simultaneously by the State.” --Inter-American Court of Human Rights Claude Reyes et al. v. Chile, Judgment of September 19, 2006 (para. 77, fn omitted)

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U.S. Office: 1877 Garden Avenue Eugene, Oregon USA “When State-held information is refused, the State must guarantee that there is a simple, prompt and effective recourse that permits determining whether there has been a violation of the right of the person requesting information and, if applicable, that the corresponding body is ordered to disclose the information. In this context, the recourse must be simple and prompt, bearing in mind that, in this regard, promptness in the disclosure of the information is essential. According to the provisions of Articles 2 and 25(2)(b) of the Convention, if the State Party to the Convention does not have a judicial recourse to protect the right effectively, it must establish one. ” --Inter-American Court of Human Rights Claude Reyes et al. v. Chile, Judgment of September 19, 2006 (para. 137)